TAUNTON — A decision on a plan of action for new bleachers, bathrooms and a press box at Taunton High School’s athletic field is on hold for another three weeks.

Despite a lengthy session Tuesday night between the City Council’s Committee of the Council as a Whole and Schools Superintendent Julie Hackett and school committee members, no action was taken to approve one of 13 versions as presented by the school department.

The department in March voted to contribute $500,000 from its school-choice revolving fund to help pay for a $3.2 million plan for new steel bleachers accommodating fans of both home and visiting teams; a handicapped-accessible press box with full-service elevator, as opposed to a cheaper “limited-use” elevator version; and $755,000-worth of new ADA-compliant bathrooms.

Tuesday night wasn’t the first go-round for the school department and council committee: A nearly three-hour discussion in April, which included the Cambridge architectural firm designing the project, resulted only in a Council request for additional details.

The onus of paying for the upgrades fell to the city after the Massachusetts School Building Authority in 2010 informed the city that the cost of bleachers, bathrooms and a press box would not be covered by the $112 million previously allocated for a new Parker Middle School and renovated Taunton High School.

That project was made possible by a debt exclusion approved by voters whereby the state paid an 83-percent share of the construction project.

Hackett would not give a definitive assurance that she and the school department would consider a less expensive plan than the $3.2 million version favored by her and the school committee.

City Council president A.J. Marshall urged her to at least consider narrowing the choices to “four or five top options.”

The athletic field in its current state is not eligible for a permanent occupancy permit from the city’s building department. It has a temporary permit that is valid until 30 days after the project eventually is completed, according to building commissioner Robert Pirozzi.

The cheapest of the 13 versions being offered to the City Council by the school department is just under $2.1 million.

Councilor David Pottier at one point during the meeting suggested that spending nearly $900,000 for a 700-square-foot, elevated press box was not a wise investment.

“I’m sure I can buy the nicest house in the city for no more than $600,000,” he said.

Hackett also presented her school budget for fiscal 2015 including $72.2 million pledged by the city for net school spending, which is the annual minimum the city is required to invest in public education.

The $72.2 million is enough to cover 95 percent of what the state has established as Taunton’s net school spending obligation. Any municipality falling below the 95-percent level is subject to penalties.

Page 2 of 2 - In Taunton’s case, she said, that would amount to $700,000.

It also came to light Tuesday night that the city has to make up a $687,000 shortfall in net school spending from the previous year.

Councilor Gerald Croteau said he’d been informed by Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. that his office received an email June 9 from state School Finance Administer Roger Hatch citing the results of an audit for the fiscal 2014 budget, indicating the expenditure gap.

The city can make up the difference by tapping into its free-cash account, which last November topped $9 million, as part of its fiscal 2015 supplementary budget next November.

Hackett at one point stressed that she had requested $75 million, and not $71.2 million, in net school spending for her fiscal 2015 budget.

Councilors Sherry Costa Hanlon and Deborah Carr pointed out that Hoye’s proposed budget inaccurately listed $71.2 million as what Hackett requested and also was granted.

Carr at one point castigated Hoye’s budget director Gill E. Enos for not inserting the correct figure.

“It’s not the budget director’s prerogative to change numbers,” she said.

Carr on Wednesday added that she’d spoken to at least one other department head claiming the amount requested for the new fiscal year was inaccurately listed in Hoye’s proposed fiscal 2015 budget as the same amount being granted.

Croteau said he does not hold Enos responsible for any error contained in the proposed fiscal 2015 budget.

“It is not the budget director’s budget — it is a mayor’s budget,” Croteau said.

The million discrepancy also can be accounted for by making adjustments in the fiscal 2015 supplementary budget.